Chicken
Lemon Chicken with Too Much Garlic
A whole head of garlic. Yes, a whole one. This is not the recipe to negotiate with.
Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Ingredients
8 — chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
1 head — garlic, cloves separated and peeled
2 — lemons (one sliced thin, one for juice)
60ml — olive oil
2 tsp — dried oregano
1 tsp — chilli flakes
salt and black pepper
I have made this on more weeknights than any other thing on this site. It is a sheet pan, a lemon, and a truly unreasonable quantity of garlic that goes soft and sweet and stops being aggressive.
The lemon slices roast down at the edges and go slightly bitter and caramelised. Eat those. That is where it all is.
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C. Salt the chicken skin generously and leave it out while the oven comes up.
Toss the garlic cloves, lemon slices, oil, oregano and chilli in a roasting tin. Season well.
Nestle the thighs in skin side up, pushing the garlic and lemon underneath so nothing sits on top of the skin.
Roast for 40 minutes, until the skin is properly browned and the garlic is soft enough to smash with a fork.
Squeeze the second lemon over everything the moment it leaves the oven.
Serve with something that will absorb the pan juices. Bread, rice, potatoes — dealer’s choice.
A note
Do not crowd the tin. If the thighs touch, the skin steams instead of crisping and you have made a sad braise.
Good to know
More About This Recipe
Nutrition
Calories
460 kcal
Protein
34g
Carbs
9g
Fat
32g
Tips & tricks
Salt the chicken skin and let it sit uncovered while the oven heats — even twenty minutes helps the skin crisp rather than steam.
Push the garlic and lemon under the thighs, not on top of them — anything sitting on the skin blocks it from browning.
Don’t crowd the tin. If the thighs are touching, the skin steams instead of crisping and it’s a sad braise rather than a roast.
Substitutions
Chicken thighs
Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts work, but pull them 15 minutes earlier — they dry out at the thigh's cook time.
Fresh garlic
You genuinely cannot substitute your way out of the garlic here — that's the recipe. Use less if you must, but expect a different dish.
Dried oregano
A tablespoon of fresh oregano, chopped, if you have it — use about three times the quantity.
Storage & leftovers
Keeps well for a weeknight. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to three days. Reheat in a 190°C oven for about ten minutes to bring the skin back — the microwave gets it hot but leaves the skin soft.
Questions people ask
Is a whole head of garlic really necessary?
Can I use boneless thighs instead?
What should I serve it with?
Postcards from my kitchen
Made this one?
Tell me how it went, or what you did differently. The best changes to these recipes have come from readers.